At the beginning of each year, congregations are busy preparing for their annual meetings. Reports are compiled from church groups. Financial information of the past year as well as a projected budget is meticulously scrutinized by the Board of Managers and the Session. Other than the budget for the new fiscal year, all reports including the previous budget and actual figures look back to what took place. At the annual congregational meeting, all these reports regarding the previous year's work are approved without much thought. Sure, some people ask questions, but mostly we receive and approve these reports and get down to the important business of discussing the budget for the year. Inevitably, as discussions progress and questions are asked, someone points out that the budget figures, especially the projected income figures, are at best guesses or hopeful wishes. Eventually with a few changes, presented budget figures get passed. Another annual meeting is done.
We tend to carry on with annual congregational meetings as a necessary activity of accountability. Having one gives us a sense of duty. Sadly a sense of grateful thanksgiving to and immense blessings from God is missing. Yes, we do thank those who worked hard, but somehow we leave God out of the meeting altogether when it comes to giving thanks. Some reports begin with expressions of thanks to God, but they are there as formality most of the time.
Time to give thanks
Perhaps because we are in difficulties we see our situations from the perspective of scarcity not of abundance. With declining membership, resources and abilities, almost all congregations are struggling. We have been engaged in this seemingly losing battle in the past five decades or more. As we experience the absence of younger age groups while overburdened with caring for the aging population, it is hard to lift our heads from the trenches and enjoy the world as God created. Never mind that we are always hunched over a mounting deficit to overcome throughout the year, we are gun shy to lift our heads and see beyond our church walls lest some other disaster might hit us for being so careless.
With every session and board meeting dealing with the reality of slow decline or darkening picture, our eyes turn not toward a hopeful future, but to difficulties we survived in the past. It is no wonder that many of our churches are good at telling how wonderful things used to be rather than how hope for the future is part of our congregation. We see the future through tainted lenses. In this way, we give lip-service in giving God thanks and do our best to avoid the implementing hope into our plans for today and tomorrow. We are filled more with fatigue and burdens than delight and hope in Christ. How, then, are we to respond to Paul who said in 1 Thessalonians (5:18) that (they) ought to give thanks always?
As a side, let me throw around some thoughts floating in my mind to set a context to give thanks.
One of our major concerns in Canada is that Christianity is declining. Church memberships are at a historic low. More and more people are defecting from following Christ, confessing Christ as their Lord and Saviour, so on and so on. Let me remind you that this decline may sound true, but in reality there has never been a time when so many people around the world proclaiming themselves as Christian than any time in history. In total, even the google estimation is between 2.4 and 2.6 billion people. I would argue that this number is at an all time high. From the perspective of global Christianity, this is a boom time. Should we not be praising and glorifying God when we see what is happening in the world?
What are we to do in our own reality of declining resources being so close to closing our church doors everywhere in Canada? Many of our churches are one major financial disaster away from closing. What is there for us to be thankful for?
Let’s see this scarcity of financial resources from a perspective of those churches in countries where there are little or nothing. When we are worried about a $10,000 deficit after receiving $90,000 in Sunday givings, we lose the ability to give God thanks for that $90,000 we were provided through God’s people to carry on Christ’s ministry in our church. I am not arguing that we should not be worried about the deficit. I am simply saying that we forget to give God thanks for what we already received. Instead, because of our worries, we neglect to praise and thank God for providing $90,000.
In a way, our attitude of thanksgiving and praise has a lot to do with understanding our commitment to participate in God’s mission in our settings. My encouragement to all of us is to demonstrate our trust in God and being faithful to what God entrusts us with. What if God sees that we are more effective and fruitful with $20,000 less than we budgeted and projected for? What if in God’s will, we are more than able to carry out the work of God with something less than we plan for?
Promises we make
More than ever, as we become leaner and less able in depending on our means, our reliance on God increases. This is not a childish hope of God intruding into human history to rescue us. Instead, it is a call to respond to Christ’s call to deny one self and follow him or to lose one’s life to gain the new life in Christ. Throughout history, many Christians gave away their wealth and comfortable life to follow Christ. That is, we are to face the challenge to see our wealth and prosperity as God’s gift we are entrusted to be good stewards of. We are to use God’s gift for the work that glorifies and praises God.
The budget for another fiscal year is not simply the best guestimate we put forward. Rather it is our discernment first and foremost that we are being called to carry out Christ’s ministry requiring so much of our financial resources. If indeed we believe that the budget figures represent the amount that will enable us to participate fully in God’s mission for another year, then, this understanding turns our votes into our promise to God that we are making a commitment to be partners in God’s mission here in this part of God’s vineyard.
As the people of the Covenant, the act of passing the budget for another year is the ritual of our promise making with God that we will faithfully carry out the work of sharing God’s love with our neighbours. This is not an empty promise, but a sincere and heartfelt promise. In turn, we are praying that God will entrust us with necessary financial resources to be engaged in God’s revelation of Christ’s reign here and now.